Into The Swarm
by Coco Adel -CFVY
Summary: Lady Rubyn, a Dark Eldar, and her strike squad are sent on a dangerous mission, that may well cost them their lives. Will they return to the Dark City or will their names be forever forgotten?
1. Preparations

_Chapter I: Preparations_

"__L__isten to me closely, lowly humans, for I will give you just this one chance to enjoy my presence and even retrieve your fellow humans I have captured. But of course, there is a condition, else I would never stoop as low as to even talk to you: I want the position of every single trading ship in this sector transmitted to my vessel. Furthermore, you will come to me unarmed and clearly visible. You have one hour to transmit the coordinates to my base here on Zephar II. I do not think, that I have to explain what happens, if no coordinates arrive..." __Lady Rubyn's voice filled the dark command centre of the "__Unseen Strike"__, her own Torture Cruiser and flagship.

"__Excus___e me, mistress, but...we don't have a base on Zephar II." _A slimy voice commented. It belonged to her second-in-command, a Haemonculus called Lord Zalmon.

Rubyn's answer reflected her rage: _"___Of c___ourse we don't, you insolent worm! How did you even get into a Haemonculus coven? It apparently was not because of your intellect..."_

"__My ___most humble excuses, my lady. Would you be so kind as to tell me what your great and unfailing plan is?"_ The Haemonculus quickly replied.

"__Ugh. A___t least you managed to notice, that I do not have a base on Zephar II, but that appears to be all. You might remember that's where we're headed to do what we're supposed to do. Now, the Imperials will surely try to get out their comrades – which we do not have captured, as you apparently have not noticed – but instead of us, they will be facing our real enemy. The ensuing battle will cause a lot of distraction, which will make it easier for us to get in."_

Lord Zalmon began to understand his mistresses plan: _"___Hm___m...you would eliminate two enemies with one move, not bad at all. But...didn't we take the Mandrakes with us for exactly that reason? Why do we use the Imperial Guard instead?"_

"__Wh___ere did you leave your damned brains?! We will release the Mandrakes to create more chaos and diversion. Also, I trust the Mandrakes to be a lot more effective killers than some whiny humans are." _This was another one of those times, when Rubyn wondered why Tarsyr or Karrex, the other members of their small strike squad, had not yet managed to succeed Zalmon.

"__La___dy Rubyn, Lord Zalmon, we are now in orbit of Zephar II. So far no signs of the Imperials. The Mandrakes on the other hand, are getting more and more unruly."_ That was Karrex, the most disciplined soldier on board. He had a strong sense for duty, a bit uncommon among Dark Eldar, but that just made him even more effective and trying to upset him was a futile endeavour.

"__Ver___y good, Karrex, keep them that way. They will be of more use to us, when they are enraged. Tell me as soon as the humans land, after that we will wait half an hour to give them time to stir up some of those buggers. Zalmon, you brainless fool, go tell the rest of the squad to get ready." _Her second-in-command grumbled some incomprehensible curse but still left the command centre into the direction of the crew quarters.

The dark mistress sighed: _"___Kar___rex, I don't understand you. You are so much more capable than that slippery bastard. By the dark skies of Commoragh, I'd even prefer Tarsyr as second-in-command, but he appears to have no interest in commanding people around. You, on the other hand, have the abilities, the self-confidence and the necessary obedience to me to be perfectly suited for that post."_

"__My Lady, in this point I have to agree with Tarsyr: I am a simple soldier and a ___good one at that. I have no desire to topple Lord Zalmon." _The devoted veteran replied.

"__Some___times it's hard to remember you're a Dark Eldar, a Trueborn even...Ah well, I guess it doesn't make that much of a difference, Zalmon's brain stays worm-eaten, no matter which rank he holds."_


	2. Descent

_Chapter II: Descent_

Lady Rubyn stood at the prow of the Raider, taking in the scenery below her. They we're headed to a forest, which lost more and more density the further you went towards hostile territory. The Haemonculus Zalmon approached his commander, bowed down and then looked at the landscape as well._ "___Inte___resting...do you see those trees my lady? I didn't think they would leave any standing..." _he wondered.

Rubyn whirled around in fury, her hand outstretched, ready to slap her second-in-command. _"___S___ome day, Zalmon, some day I will lose my patience with you! You can count yourself lucky I haven't sped up your decent a bit. There are trees because this is territory those filthy things do not yet have under control. Did you believe we would land straight at the centre of the infestation? How do you think are we supposed to get in and out without alarming the whole planet?!"_

Karrex, who was steering the Raider, noticed the rage in his mistress and he knew, that the whole operation would be a lot more exhausting if it started with the Lady enraged. _"__M'lady, two minutes until we hit ground."_ He also knew, that somehow his discipline and focus on the mission always calmed her down, at least as long as Lord Zalmon was the object of her fury. Probably, it reminded her, that not the whole squad was as inept as the Haemonculus.

Turning towards the soldier, Rubyn said: "_Get us down quick and quiet. We do not want to attract any unwanted attention."_ Looking around once more, she reflected why they'd come here in the first place and under such secrecy. Rubyn was an independent individual, not belonging to a Kabal or Wych Cult. The same went for her small strike team, with the exception of Lord Zalmon. Still, they were in service to Asdrubael Vect, overlord of Commoragh. Well, only in service to him. The job was neither easy nor did it pay well, not even in slaves, but the first thing you learn in the Dark City is not to cross Vect, at least if you want to enjoy your life.

"__List___en up,"_ she started, turning towards her men, _"I know the odds aren't exactly in our favour. There's an infinite number of enemies out there, whereas this squad consists of merely five members. That's the reason for all this caution. That's the reason we tricked the Imperial Guard. That's the reason we released the Mandrakes. Still, those are hardly more than diversions. But, do you really believe we need them? We are Dark Eldar! Nothing strikes faster, nothing has more grace, nothing is superior! We are sons and daughters of Commoragh. That's the reason why we're here. That's the reason why we have no fear. That's the reason why we will prevail. Now, move out!"_

During her furious speech, the Raider had finished it's decent and landed on a glade, hidden from sight. Rubyn's feet were the first to touch the ground, sped up by her fury and her leading position. Vork, the only vat-grown member of her team, stood beside her, Splinter Rifle in hand and cautiously eyeing the edges of the clearing. Karrex was still on-board configuring the auto-pilot, so the Raider would return to the _"Unseen Strike"_. Once done, he also jumped off the craft mimicking Vork's stance, the only difference being the weapon, as Karrex carried a Dark Lance.

Still, there were only four pairs of feet on the ground, the fifth belonged to Tarsyr. He was standing on his Skyboard, which was hovering a few feet above ground. Without a single word, he took off and disappeared among the treetops. The rest of the team formed a triangle around Zalmon, as he was more of a scientist, than a warrior. He was the one responsible for their experimental warfare and he wouldn't even let anyone else near it. Haemonculi were obsessed with harmful technologies.

Rubyn stood there, Demiklaives in hand – trophies from an Incubus, who stood in her way – and waited for Tarsyr's return. After a few minutes the low hum of the Skyboard returned, signalling that they had not yet been noticed and could move on. Tarsyr himself stayed out of sight, partly because he was the lookout and partly as strategic move. Should they be attacked, the sudden appearance of Tarsyr on his Skyboard, wielding his Hellglaive, would have a much stronger impact on the enemy's morale than it could have, if he'd been there from the beginning.

Thus, they set out into the forest, leaving the safety of the clearing.


	3. Invasion

_Chapter III: Invasion_

Blackness, vivid colours, eerie silence, loud screams, the scent of flowers, the stench of decay, slow changes, rapid displacements.

Iakashneth felt all of these impressions at the same time and one after the other. Thus was the way of the Warp: all at once and nothing at all. Always changing, always flowing. He though was able – unlike most others – to derive some sort of meaning and sense from those impressions.

There was a planet, painted in green, a double-headed eagle, winding in it's death thrashes. And there was something else, something...fast and undetectable, shrouded in darkness. His focus was concentrated on this occurrence, his whole mind set on unravelling this secret, all that defined him was tasked to find, what was kept from his sight. With all his might he pushed apart the black veils, he advanced through the dark mist, the colours changed from black to a dark blue, then again to purple. He'd almost revealed this mystery, there was only one dark layer left. He slowly pulled it away, the image still blurred. It became more accurate, showing what was hidden from him. It was...

"_You there! Sorcerer! Shyloth requires you on the bridge!"_

His focus was broken, the image blurred again, the shrouds were back in place. Iakashneth stood up slowly, trying to contain his anger. He had been so close, so unimaginable close to exposing this anomaly.

"_Tell the Lord I'll be on my way."_ he replied to the waiting Marine.

"__Go___ tell him yourself!"_ barked the impatient courier.

"__O___f course I will. As soon as I have arrived on the bridge. Oh, and, next time watch your tone or you may find the consequences most...unpleasant."_

To keep the Marine from bothering him, he followed the call to the bridge. As he walked through the narrow corridors, he focussed on remembering every little detail he had seen in his visions. Maybe he still was able to find out, what so furiously tried to stay hidden from him. The darkness, the colours, the vague image...he put it all together like pieces of a puzzle.

Then he smiled.

His instincts had not deceived him. There was another presence on the planet, which they were apparently orbiting, a dark presence, not unknown to him.

The sorcerer of Chaos was not yet sure, what part this presence would play in his plans, an important one for sure. But – once again – someone else wanted his attention.

_"Ah, there you are, sorcerer. Took you long enough. Now, tell me if this planet is_ _worth raiding and think long, for your life depends on the answer. I am aching for a fight, no matter if it is on my ship or on that planet."_ Lord Shyloth's voice boomed across the bridge.

_"Then it may please you to here I already evaluated this planet. There is not much here, that may draw your interest."_ while he spoke, the Chaos Lord's mood worsened drastically. _"I warned you, sorcerer, this was your..." - "I was not yet finished, my Lord! I said 'there is not much', I didn't say there was nothing. Of course, this world is crawling with alien filth, just like every other planet. Yet I detected something else, something that may very well draw your attention. I have to say it wasn't easy to decipher the visions. Yet, in the end, I unravelled it. There are Loyalists on this planet. I admit, they are just an Imperial Guard regiment, but Loyalists nonetheless."_ Iakashneth finished, secretly enjoying the power he held over his adversary by a simple choice of words.

"__Hrmp___f...very well...you'll live. I warn you though: next time you say or do anything I dislike, your head rolls. Understood?"_

_He replied:__ "Of course, my Lord, I would never question your authority."_

Shyloth eyed him distrustful, yet seemed...content for the moment. Turning to his crew, the Champion of Chaos bellowed: _"Finally the time has come, we will not simply enjoy battle once more, we will let our blades taste the blood of our old enemy. They may be weak and feeble puppets, yet their misguided belief in the corpse-emperor gives them strength. But this strength pales before the gifts of the Dark Gods, the gifts of Slaanesh foremost. These gifts grant us pleasures these imperial dogs can not even fathom. We will ravel in their ignorance and bathe in their blood. Prepare the invasion in the name of Slaanesh!"_

Once the Lord had finished his speech, Iakashneth turned away and left the bridge. Again, he smiled, having successfully manipulated Shyloth.

As he returned to his accommodations aboard the ship, so did his mind return to the dark presence on Zephar II...


	4. Enemy

_Chapter IV: Enemy_

Having crossed the forest, the small troop was now looking down into a valley. They may have been able to get through the strip of trees unnoticed but that would probably change soon. Not only was the valley bare of anything, that could be used as cover, but it also was crawling with hostiles.

Those enemies were no humans. And they were many.

As far as the eye could reach there was not a single free spot.

"_Oh, great. First there are no any enemies at all and now there's no way to get past them, without even touching them. What's your plan on that?"_ Tarsyr asked with a cynical undertone.

"_I agree, this might be interesting indeed."_ was Rubyn's reply. _"Let's retreat to the trees and wait for the night, maybe we'll manage to slip past them in the dark. Karrex, you stay here, keep an eye on them and tell us at once, if there's something happening or you see an opening we could use."_

"_As you say, M'lady."_

"_All others, stay on your toes, check your weapons and get some rest. You will need it:"_ she ordered the rest of the squad.

Thus, they spent hours, polishing and maintaining their armour and weapons and even did a bit of sparring.

Suddenly, Karrex joined them.

"_There's a lot of movement going on down there. More than usual, that is. Maybe they have caught our scent? We should-"_ his report was interrupted by sudden explosions, followed by gunfire of all sorts.

"_What the-?"_ Ruybn exclaimed.

They sprinted towards the cliff and, looking down, they saw humans in fight with the aliens occupying the valley. It was the Imperial Guard, lured to this planet by Rubyn herself and lured to this exact spot by the large amount of hostiles. Imperial artillery was the best in all the galaxy, more so against a large amount of enemies in close formation. Their tanks were feared amongst all who had to face them. The Guardmen, the backbone of the Imperial Guard in any regiment, were so many, not a single free spot could be seen for miles.

Still, they were outnumbered. Here, on this planet, the Imperium of Man was facing an enemy more ruthless than Orks and more numerous than any other race in the whole galaxy, maybe even the whole universe. It was an enemy, that had already taken whole planets without even being slowed down in it's advance, constantly increasing the numbers of it's troops. In fact, there was not even a single organism in the whole race, that was not tasked to killing.

Their origin unknown, their motivation the instinct of survival, their target the consummation of all the galaxy.

The things down there, being killed by humans and taking their revenge, were Tyranids, devourers of worlds.

"_Now that's convenient. The foolish mortals aren't just distracting the bugs, they are actually angering them. The result will mean the death of the Imperial Guard here, be it on exactly this battlefield or wherever they may retreat to. On the other hand, the Nids should be busy transforming all the corpses into biomass, thus making it easier for us to sneak past." _the Lady observed. _"I say, we give them some time to kill more bugs and then we'll move out. For now, let's stay here and keep tabs on the battle."_

The group retreated a bit from the edge of the cliff, except for Karrex, who was watching the ongoing battle. The others returned to their previous tasks, though more tense. They also packed up what little equipment there was to pack up so they could move out any moment.

The tides of battle surged back and forth. Superior numbers against superior technology. Hundreds of huge creatures and thousands of small ones against similar numbers of tanks and infantrymen. There even were battles on a microscopic scale: viruses and their like against the human immune system.

The Dark Eldar witnessed a fight, not between two armies, but between two completely different forms of life. He had to admit, the Imperial Guard was exceptionally well equipped. There was a large amount of special wargear like meltas, plasma guns and flamers, mortars and rocket launchers, las-cannons, heavy bolters and autoguns. In addition, the number of tanks was relatively high, considering the reports, the Dark Eldar had "lent" from an imperial vessel some time ago, did not state this particular regiment as "armoured" or even "mechanized". That didn't stop them from using countless chimeras to transport troops to and from the front lines or charging head-on into the enemy with Leman Russes and the one Baneblade they had.

Their enemy, though, was relentless. Relentless and without numbers. They may not have advanced technology, but did also prove, that it wasn't even necessary. The whole race consisted of biological warfare. If a Guardsman was hit, he would need to have the particular limb amputated or fear death by poison. Even tanks did not give enough protection, for anything bigger than a Warrior, and maybe even those, could cut through metal with their claws.

On both sides, thousands fell and still the battle was nowhere near an end...


	5. (In)Sanity Is For The Weak!

_Chapter V: (In)Sanity Is For The Weak!_

Vork paced back and forth on the rim of their small camp. He had cleaned his rifle three times over by now, had disassembled it and placed everything back together. His armour had been polished, all his knifes and blades sharpened to the degree he had to fear they would break on impact.

In short: He was bored, anxious and restless. He had joined this mission on the prospect of thrilling action and what did he get? His place was a spectator's seat. Down there a battle raged. Hundreds died by the minute. The wind carried their cries and shrieks up to the plateau the squad was on. With them also came the smell of blood, of smoke and of death. As if this didn't anguish him enough already, his very being as a Dark Eldar allowed him, or, in this case, forced him to sense the fear and pain of others.

It was something he couldn't shut off, unlike the others, it appeared. Karrex was laying on the edge of the cliff and watching the battle intently. Tarsyr sat on the ground and played lazily with his Hellglaive, twirling it around. The Dark Lady herself was studying reports of all kinds about the mission, the planet, the Imperial Guard or the Tyranids. That only left Zalmon. He was sitting a bit off from the group, muttering to himself and straddling some strange device. To Vork it looked suspicious but it was not his business. He was just vat-grown in contrast to the others, who were all true-born, having real parents.

This, of course, placed him on the lowest rung of the social ladder of Dark Eldar society. He received less training, had no access to high-quality gear and practically had to fight for everything in his life. Being vat-grown also meant his genes were of poor condition, explaining his difficulties to cope with his emotions. All the disadvantages of his "heritage" also added to this effect.

Another wave of emotion battered at his mental walls. He started shivering, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, struggling for control over his mind and body. It didn't help. _"Arghh," _he said out loud involuntarily, _"I need to kill something!"_ Shocked, he looked at the rest of the group to see if they noticed. Apparently they had not.

Down there a grenade exploded.

He stormed back into the camp, stopping in front of the mistress. She looked at him warily, eyeing him suspiciously. _"What?"_ she asked bluntly. _"I...why are we even waiting for the humans and the bugs to do all the killing? You yourself said we are superior!"_ the vat-grown reproachfully yelled.

"_Did you spend enough time with Zalmon already to adopt his idiocy? Of course we have no problems dispatching humans and Tyranids, but not in the middle of a fucking battle. Your speed doesn't really protect you from explosions or flames, both of which are used extensively by the Guard. Besides, there are literally thousands of enemies down there and sooner or later you would be gunned down, probably even without the killer intending to hit you but someone else. Seriously, what did I do to deserve being surrounded by lackwits?" _Rubyn turned away from him, sighing and shaking her head.

"_But...You..I...I need to kill!" _he shouted at her. She turned back around slowly and said with a dangerously quiet undertone: _"What you need is to obey me. I say, we wait here until we can get across that cursed valley easily. You have this one chance: either you manage to restrain yourself or I will do it and you would definitely not like that. Now get out of my sight until your presence is required!"_

He indeed did not want that, so there was no option left to him than to bow his head and sullenly leave the camp again. Not knowing where to go, he decided to watch the battle. Of course, this had not helped his situation at any rate. He was still suffering from the powers of the emotions he felt – his own and those of the combatants – and if that was not enough already, he was really pissed off now.

"_What strange irony,"_ he thought, _"we Dark Eldar are said to be the most evil and cruel beings in the galaxy and I did not even get shot for insubordination as any Guardsman would have been by his superior."_

As if to supplement his thoughts, down on the battlefield a Commissar used his bolt pistol right now to punish some soldier for cowardice. Upon seeing this and feeling the new flood of emotions something inside him broke. His eyes got dull, he seemed as if in a trance taking in every small bit of fear, pain and despair like they were nothing more than combat drugs. Suddenly, he jumped up, his eyes now burning with fiery rage, his face a distorted grimace.

Out of his mind, Vork ran back onto the clearing, looked around frantically and then his wild eyes stopped on Zalmon. He could sense the suspicions he had held against the haemonculus again.

"_Vork! Do you want me to toss you off the cliff? No? Then stop to ignore my orders!" _The enraged Lady called. He did not care about her words, he did not even seem to comprehend them. His mind focused only on the squad's second-in-command.

Then his eyes found something dangling from Zalmon's neck, something shiny. Vork raced to towards him, using all the speed of his kind and crashed into the old Dark Eldar, clawing at his neck.

His hands grabbed the necklace and he tore it away, ripping out the haemonculus' throat at the same time. With out a glance back, he ran off into the forest.

After a short silence, Tarsyr laughed and, in his pessimistic way, said: _"We finally see some action and already lose forty percent of our squad. What a great start."_


End file.
